Railway-car



(No Model.) .2 Shets--Sheet 1. T. LUCE.

RAILWAY GAR.

YNo. 247,259. Patented Sept. 20.1881.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. T. LUCE.

RAILWAY GAR.

No. 247,259. Patented Sept. 20,1881.

y MV@ N. PUERs. plmm-Lnhvgmvxm. washington. n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THEODOEE LUCE, 0E DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

RAILWAY-OAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 247,259, dated September 20, 1881.

Application filed` March 8, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, THEoDoRE LUCE, of the city ot' Detroit and State of Michigan, have invented an Improvement in Itailway-0ars, of which the following is a specification.

The nature ofmy invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in the construction of railway-cars, by means of which bar and sheet steel or iron, and glass, without cast-iron or wood, are employed in the con struc-V tion of the car-body, thereby furnishing a car which combines the greatest strengthwith the requisite lightness, and which will be fire-proof.

As car-bodies are now and have been for many years construetedVtheyare liable to telescope in collisions, to easily be broken in accidents, and to be burned from various causes, to the great injury and loss ot' life of' the passengers, while the material ot' which they are built and the manner in which they are constructed cireumscribe their dimensions and carrying capacity.

The object of my invention is to construct a car-body in which all the necessary conditions to prevent the aforesaid liabilities are to be found, and which can with safety be made larger and with a greater carrying capacity.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a section of my improved carbody without outside shell. Fig. 2 is a door plan. Fig. 3 is a vertical crosssection. Fig. 4is an end elevation. Fig, 5 is a sectional detail.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part 'of this specitication, A represents the sill plates, made ot' bar steel or ironv the length of the car-body. Upon these side plates the transverse girts Barelaid at proper intervals, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. These girts are also steel or iron bars, and upon them are placed the trusses C, also bars, and a suitable bolt or rivet secures the ends ot' the girts and trusses to the side plates. A post, D, suitably secured at top and bottom, is placed between the girt and truss, midway of their length,ex cept nearest the ends of the car, Where two posts, a, are employed, one on each side ofthe center, to give room i'orplacing and operating the draw-bar.

E is a plate, running from end to end ofthe car centrally and below the girts, and the posts D are made with a riveting-pintle, b, at

'extension ofthe car-oor.

each end. The bottom pintle passes through the girt and plate E and is riveted thereto, while the upper pintle passes through the truss C and is riveted thereto. The next step is to prepare the zigzag rail or web Fand rivet each ofthe lower bends to the sill-plates, midway between the girts. Upon the upper bends of the rails F are then laid the girts G, each of the ends of which is provided with an offset, c. Upon the top of these offsets are then placed the longitudinal chords H,upon which are laid the zigzag rails I, the lower bends ot' which are placed 'in opposition to the upper bends of the rails F, and there rivets are used to secure ther-ails and plates F, G, H, and Itogether. Then upon the top ofthe rail 1 is laid the chord J, upon the top ot' which are set the posts K, each ot' theends of which is provided with apintle similar to those on theposts D. The lower pintle passes through the rail Jl and the upper bends of therailIandis riveted thereto. The upper pintle passes through the top plate, K', and is riveted thereto. The spaces L are to be utilized for Windows. The girts G are riveted to the top oi' the trusses C, and the tloor M, of rolled plates, is riveted to the girts G betweenthe ot'tsets c. The chord K is overlaid by the wall-plate L, leaving an open space between it and the chord, which space may be utilized for the purposes of ventilation, or K and L may be formed of one solid bar. The rafters N, for the root', are formed in one piece of any desired shape, and are riveted to the wall-plate by means ot' the pintles on the upper ends ofthe posts K. The corners ofthe car are formed by the posts O, riveted to the top and bottom chords by pintles. A door is formed at each end ofthe car, to \vhich access is had from the usual platform formed by the Proper oi'sets in the car-loorare provided to allow the necessary movement of the car-Wheels, the construction and operation ot' which I have described in a separate application. The boxes in which the axles run are contained within the floor of the car-body, while the upper'portionsof the wheels project through the floor into the interior of the car, where they will be protected and hid from view by a proper arrangement ot' seats.

It will be seen that by the above-described construction I make use of very simple memhers, which require no skilled laborin their erection, While all accidents can onlybe local, owing to their cellular construction.

What I claim as my invention is- The composite car-floor support herein described, consisting of twosets of chords A H, and Webs F, arranged one at each side of the car and forming the sides, in combination With the lateral trusses connecting; them together, and to which the flooring is secured, substantially as specied.

2. A car-body having each of its sides constructed of chords J H, continuous unbroken web I, posts K, and chords K,in combination with the Hoor-supports, substantially as described.

3. In a. car, a truss consisting` of the parallel girts B G, truss U, and post D, thegirts Gr being provided with offsets c for the purpose of THEO. LUCE.

Vitnesses:

H. S. SPRAGUE,

W. ANDREWS. 

